The disclosed inventions include and apparatus and method for providing a universal Automatic Meter Reading (AMR) system configured with fly-by functionality. Such system may be configured to work in a plurality of modes including a walk-bay, drive-by, fixed network, and fly-by mode without hardware modifications. The system is configured to automatically calibrate so that the water meter transmitter operates at a minimum transmitted signal power level. Additional features include automatic hardware self-healing features where the system continues to function after certain hardware failures occur.
Legal claims defining the scope of protection, as filed with the USPTO.
1. A drone tower device for collecting data from a plurality of data locations, said drone tower device comprising: an airborne device comprising a transceiver configured for storing and executing route management code for a predefined data collection area for a plurality of data locations and wherein said airborne device is configured to track the passage of time and further configured to track its location within the predefined data collection area; wherein said airborne device is configured to wakeup when the airborne device determines a data collection session is to begin or a data collection session is requested from a remote device and maneuvers according to a predefined flight pattern within said predefined data collection area and listen for data-signals transmitted from said plurality of data locations; and wherein the airborne device is self-calibrating to alter said flight pattern to travel closer to the data signal source so that the power level for said transmitted data-signals can be reduced.
2. A drone tower device for collecting data as in claim 1 , wherein the said predefined flight pattern is a predefined height at a predefined location and wherein said airborne device stays at such predefined height and location until it determines one of (a) all data has been collected, (b) a predefined amount of time has passed, and (c) a predefined environmental condition has been detected.
3. A drone tower device for collecting data as in claim 1 , wherein the said predefined flight pattern is a route defined by said route management code and wherein said airborne device maneuvers through said flight pattern until it determines one of (a) all data has been collected, (b) a predefined amount of time has passed, and (c) a predefined environmental condition has been detected.
4. A drone tower device for collecting data as in claim 1 , wherein the airborne device is configured for docking with a docking station and wherein said airborne device is further configured to detect a docking signal generated by said docking station.
5. A drone tower device for collecting data as in claim 4 , wherein said airborne device is further configured to transmit a signal to said docking station to activate said docking station to prepare to receive said airborne device.
6. A drone tower device for collecting data as in claim 1 , further comprising a docking station associated with a vehicle.
7. A unmanned drone device for collecting data from a plurality of data locations, said drone device comprising: an unmanned drone comprising a processor programmed to maneuver within a predefined data collection area comprising a plurality of data sources; wherein said unmanned drone maneuvers within said predefined data collection area and listens for data-signals transmitted by said plurality of data sources; and wherein said unmanned drone is self-calibrating to alter said flight pattern to travel closer to a data source transmitting a data signal above a predefined power level so that the power level for said transmitted data-signal can be reduced.
8. An unmanned drone device as in claim 7 , wherein said unmanned airborne drone is configured for automatically docking with a docking station using a docking signal generated by said docking station.
9. An unmanned drone device as in claim 8 , wherein said predefined data collection area is a route defined by route management code and wherein said airborne device maneuvers through said predefined data collection area until it determines one of (a) all data has been collected, (b) a predefined amount of time has passed, and (c) a predefined environmental condition has been detected.
Cooperative Patent Classification codes for this invention. Click any code to explore related patents in that topic.
May 28, 2018
January 5, 2021
Browse 5M+ US patents with plain-English claim translations and AI-generated analysis.